A Christian friend I talk to on IM who is a lurker here gave me the link for this site and suggested I try here to ease my fears. I'm 21 but she told me that wouldn't be a problem, is that true?

I made this post at a non Christian spirituality board but wasn't too satisfied with the responses.
amazingfacts.org/resources/video/MPVideo/mp09.asx

So in other words, according to the Bible, the dead are sleeping? When I was 12, I died from a grand maul seizure. There was nothing but blackness, no NDE or anything, but when I was 14, something happened to me. My great grandmother died at the age of 96, so I had 14 good years with her but when she died I was depressed(not like I'm not depressed now). A week after she died, I got a phone call from, you guessed it, my great grandmother. All she said was "I love you" over and over again. Somebody recently told me that was not my great grandmother, but a demon.

As my name implies, I'm pretty lonely. And with having nobody to talk to I'm mulling over a lot of things. I accepted Jesus as my savior around the time my great grandmother died, but I really don't feel like a Christian other than the fact I pray "in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and God the Father Almighty". Thoughts?

Your age isn't a problem.


The dead aren't sleeping. The people are either in heaven with the Lord or in Hell.

*waits for a Catholic to try to mention the fictitious purgatory*


Lot of friendly people here who wouldn't mind chatting with ya! You can pm me anytime you like.

If you get an hour of free time or even 20 minute intervals check out the video I shared in my original post. It gives biblical quotes of how nobody except for Moses and the man who ascended into Heaven are aware, everybody "sleeps" from Hitler to Princess Diana until the day of judgment.

I will if I can get to it.Though I must tell you I have already studied the topic in depth and will probably just be looking at all the errors in theology and such.

This post has been edited by God-Sent: Oct 4 2009, 03:38 AM

OK then, could you please point out the errors as you come across them because the guy does quote directly from the bible.

"To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." ( 2 Cor. 5:8 )

"Death has been swallowed up in victory. Oh death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory?" ( 1 Cor. 15:55)

Soul sleep is heretical. At one point, yes, the souls of the dead went to the Limbo of the Fathers and slept, but after the sacrifice of Christ, there was no death.

"Today you will be with me in paradise." ( Luke 23:43)

The souls of the dead are either in Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory.



Oh ha



Your Great Grandmother may have very well come to visit you. perhaps it may have been a demon. I really can't say, but I will tell you that she is not asleep. I am sure that she does love you very much, though, still! Don't go seeking her out, is all I recommend. Pray about this, and if it helps, talk to her. Tell her you miss her and how depressed you feel.

May God bless you and remember always, God loves you very much!

This post has been edited by Selah: Oct 4 2009, 04:01 PM

Now this is talked about in the video, apparently it's a misunderstanding with the comma placement, or so the pastor and the video on YouTube titled "Truth About Death" says.

Guys, let me remind you to be careful of debating in here. People are providing their interpreations of scripture, so to try to disprove those intrepreations would be getting into a debating zone.

(I understand, Zabby, and I will try to steer clear of debating).

Well, the thief, (traditionally called Dismas) died around the same time Jesus did, when he opened up the Limbo of the Fathers and let all the souls waiting there into heaven. Dismas was one of the first, hence why Jesus said, "Today you will be with me in paradise."

I recall a letter by St. paul the Apostle (the chapter and verse escapes me) of him debating what is better: to live or die? He mentioned that, if he lived, he would be happy, because he would be in the presence of God. But he needed to stay because the Christians needed his help. He was stuck between the two! (I'll have to find it, and I will.)

This post has been edited by Selah: Oct 4 2009, 05:01 PM

Of course you fear death, everyone does, and you're a human being. You'll probably go on fearing death until the day you die. Again, everyone does. That's what human beings do, they fear death and they fear life: Ernest Becker.


That verse was Philippians 1:21-25

Josh

This post has been edited by JoshuaPopper: Oct 6 2009, 08:24 PM

You sound like an Atheist, are you? Most if not all Christians I know claim to NOT fear death even non Christians but spiritual people all the same.

http://christianity.about.com/od/whatdoest...thandheaven.htm

my preacher thinks we go to an intermediate heaven. and maybe you didn't actually die. you could have been comatose, and maybe God didn't will for you to have an nde. sometimes those are for people to share their testimony, and that probably wasn't a demon. test every spirit. so do more than pray. read your bible, go to church, let God talk back, make Christian friends, worship, praise God. yes you are a Christian if you believe in Christ, but to do more to strengthen your spiritual life, do these things. and don't fear death, because Christ defeated it

I agree with one point above, if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your lord and savior then you are saved.

I dont fear the day I know I am going to die if it ever comes. If I am ever told I have (x) months to live, then I would be pretty scared but hold my faith strong in Jesus Christ. So I also agree with the post above that everyone (ok maybe not "everyone") Fears death. All we know when we are alive is this world, so it would be weird not to be a little bit nervous about dieing.

So yes, read the Bible, go to Church and strengthen your faith in God. Of course God wants to help you, and you'll begin to notice over time that God really is there and really is looking after you and helping you with your faith. Pray on it and have patience, God is the only one who will never fail you, as undeserving as we all may be.

No, he likes to call himself a Christian.

It's normal to fear death, Christian or not. It shouldn't rule you, however, or paralyze you. To be uncertain is all about being human. Just don't let it cripple you.

I'd suggest finding out where that phone call came from. Records from the phone company could tell you that it wasn't your grandmother.

Also you shouldn't fear death but respect it as an integral and natural part of life just as birth is as well.

I'm a Christian. Christians are human beings. Human beings are mortal and they are absolutely petrified about their mortality. Therefore, Christians are mortal and are absolutely petrified about their mortality. Being a Christian does not mean pretending that you're not mortal, that's called "lying to yourself" in order to make you feel better and it's also a clear indication that you're already scared. I say this believing full well in an afterlife.

Josh

Well, I'm a Christian, and I can honestly say I'm actually looking forward to my death. Life can be pretty tiring, and I have faith that when I die, I'll be at complete peace, with God, and happier than I've ever been here. I don't think I'm delluding myself here in "denying" my fear of death - I admit sometimes I want to cling to my life, but on my best days I remember heaven's the main goal, thanks to God.
And I really don't think all Christians are necessarily afraid of death at all - Phillipians clearly shows that Paul is not at all afraid of his death because thereafter he'll be with Christ.

Personally, my preacher teaches that one goes to be with God immediately after dying, and that at the Second Coming, the world will be made over again, this time a heavenly one whose citizens can never be separated from God - and all believers live there. So I believe "heaven" is actually going to come to earth, after earth has been renewed. (In case anyone is curious, I bellieve that God didn't make earth this way the first time so that after sinning, we could be shown God's true love by having His son die for us. Therefore, we could truly see and appreciate His love.)

Oh, and I should also add: don't get down on yourself for "not feeling like a Christian." If you've accepted Christ as your savior, I don't care how you "feel." God has saved you, and He's going to take you to heaven after you die. Rest in that, think about God during your spare moments and study your Bible; everything else will come naturally. I certainly don't believe that phone call had to be a demon - legit communication with the dead has happened in the Bible. (King Saul communicated with Samuel, if memory serves, and while witchcraft was involved, it really was Samuel; another example is Jesus meeting up with Moses and Abraham - again my memory on just who the people were is shaky, but they were dead.) Of course both of these examples were prior to Jesus's death, whereas your grandmother's was not, but I still think it's unwise to necessarily attach demonism to your phone call. Like a demon would have nothing better to say than "I love you"...?

This post has been edited by saaron: Oct 9 2009, 10:21 PM

Now not to debate, but that's unhealthy and really discomforting. Do not hold "afterlife" and "life" as polar dichotomies because scripture doesn't, our faith doesn't. St John's Gospel for instance, as dualistic as it is, it really chanllenges these dualisms of "life" and "death". I think it's a very deconstructive Gospel at that. But just remember that it's not only incredibly healthy to fear death but it's incredibly unhealthy not to, it leads to all sorts of problems.

Also, remember that St Paul was prone to exaggerating his emotions, he probably was as scared of death as everyone else was. Jesus Christ cried quite a bit when he was crucified, he was scared, and we worship him as God.

A concluding remark, Christ did not save us from our humanity, he saved us to true humanity. He didn't save us from fearing death, he saved us from fearing life. He didn't save us to suicide, he didn't save us to desire death, he saved us to change life.

Josh

I'm going to agree with Josh for the most part here. As Christians, death is not the beginning of some radically different life, our new life starts here and now and is finished in the end, whether that happens before or after death.

I also don't want to debate, but only to elaborate:
According to my beliefs Christians will be totally cleansed and purified when they go to heaven after death, and they're much closer with God. I really think that heaven will be radically different than life on earth, and while our new lives do start here, I don't think we'll truly experience God's glory until we reach the afterlife.

And I'm not saying I'm doing anything to promote or quicken my death - it's just that I've realized it's coming no matter what I do, one day or another. Yet because I know what's going to happen after it I'm at peace with the concept. First Corinthians says, "Death, where is your sting?" I believe when Jesus was resurrected, he defeated sin and death, and in connecting believers with God again he erradicated the need to fear it.

I really like what you said here.
It brought some peace to me!

Thanks

According to the Bible (or at least my understanding of it), the dead are currently in either Heaven or Hell, both awaiting the final ressurection of the dead.

And no, if your great grandmother is dead, there is no way she can contact you. Remember the parable of the rich man and lazarus? The rich man was not permitted to go and warn his brothers despite desperately wanting to. If you really did get a phone call from someone claiming to be your great grandmother, it was perhaps someone pulling a prank on you. While it could have been a demon, to be honest I kind of doubt your testimony here.

I just stumbled across your post and this is a subject that is very near and dear to my heart.
I haven't read any of the other replies to your post and don't have time to get into a lengthy discussion, but If I were to ask you "what is the opposite of life"? Your most likely response would be death and you would be mistaken.
Why? Because from a conscience perspective, there is no such thing as death.
When the Spirit leaves the body there is a detachment and all that you are, your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, etc. remain intact. Nothing really changes except for a feeling of detachment from the body. And there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of, it doesn't hurt and happens in the blink of an eye.
I know - it happened to me.
Do me a favor and go to YouTube, run a search for NDE (near death experience) and watch a couple of the videos out there.
Then come back and tell me what you think.

You died?
Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but that expression kind of threw me off...